7 Tips to avoid a parental burnout at home

Stress Less: 7 Tips to avoid a parental burnout

MF editorial team

12 May 2017

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Do not neglect your fatigue
Feeling tired after a busy day of work or a weekend with a hectic family schedule is perfectly normal. On the other hand, being exhausted from just waking up is much less. Mental fatigue is one of the first signs of burnout, whether professional or maternal, do not neglect it. As soon as you feel overwhelmed, make the necessary arrangements and talk to your doctor.
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Stop feeling guilty
When one becomes a parent, one becomes accustomed to feeling guilty for everything and anything: because yesterday you dropped off your kids 10 minutes late at the school; because this morning you forgot to put the healthy snack in his bag; because you didn’t have the time to take him to his piano lesson… For your personal wellbeing and that of your family, it is imperative to learn to let go. You are human and have the right, like everyone else, to error.
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Give up being perfect
Teaching children to eat organic, accompanying them on school outings, not letting them watch TV for too long, enrolling them in creative lessons… Conditioned by an increasingly demanding society, young mothers constantly seek to attain the perfect status of motherhood. Wrong! Nobody is perfect and that is just fine! Nobody needs you to be that way!
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Ask for help
There is no shame in asking for help! If you feel that the situation is lacking in extra hands, do not hesitate to delegate certain household and parental tasks to your spouse or siblings or parents. And if you need a break, why not call a babysitter, a family friend or grandpa and grandpa?
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Take time for yourself
Becoming a parent does not mean you stop living and taking time off for yourself. On the contrary. Do not forget that before you are a mother, you are also (and most of all) a woman. And if you ignore this, you will definitely burn out! Once a week, allow yourself a moment just for yourself during which you will enjoy your freedom. Having tea with friends, going to the spa, playing sports or simply reading a book in a park… enjoy this free time to do something that stimulates you and rejuvenates you.
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Do not forsake your work and your partner
Overwhelmed, many women think it is wise to quit their job to fully concentrate on the work of a stay-at-home mom. This is a mistake! Getting up every morning to go to the office and having personal obligations allows you to air your mind. If you cannot keep up with the fast-paced workload at the office, reduce your working hours but do not just throw in the towel. In the same vein, do not neglect your spouse for the time you spend on your children.
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Consult a specialist
Finally, if you feel you are on the brink of a nervous breakdown, do not wait until it's too late to react. If you are actually in full parental burnout, there is little chance, if any, to get yourself out on your own. Consult a professional who will guide you and find a solution to your discomfort.

Fatigue, stress, pressure… parental burnout is starting to affect more and more mothers in Singapore. Here are 7 tips to avoid getting locked in this spiral.

No, burnouts don’t just occur in the professional setting. Still unrecognised in Singapore as a real problem, the parental (or maternal) burnout – to be distinguished from baby blues – is starting to become an issue in mothers struggling to balance family life with everything else. Indirectly linked to the pressure exerted by society, it mainly concerns mothers in search of perfection and translates into physical and mental exhaustion.

Once the problem has set in, it can be difficult to get out of the situation without the help of a specialist. As such, it is important to find out how your can help yourself before it is too late.

Head up to the gallery to check out 7 tips on how to counteract parental burnout. Don’t wait until it gets worse.

Laura Gabrieli

Photos: Getty Images

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